Jeff Amyx's hardware store in Washburn, Tennessee, is back in the news again, after it was revealed the owner has been creating antigay merchandise to sell in his store, and can't keep the items in stock. Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies made headlines earlier this year when the owner posted a "No Gays Allowed" sign in the store's window.
According to WATE-TV, Amyx said he received "bundles of hate mail" after posting the controversial sign but the brouhaha only drove more local business to the hardware store. He decided to capitalize on the opportunity by printing up bumper stickers and hats with slogans like "Choose God or Gays." He says he'll soon have t-shirts with the slogan available for sale as well.
Amyx, also a Baptist minister, is keeping a firm grasp on his homophobia in the face of rising sales. "God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve," Amyx told the news station, citing the old antigay chestnut. "I just don't agree with their lifestyle. I don't want any part of it, I don't want it around me and I'll never agree with it. I'm just doing it because people have asked me for it."
When he first posted his handmade "No Gays Allowed" sign in his store's window, Amyx defended his actions and said he had no plans to remove it.
"They gladly stand for what they believe in, why can't I? They believe their way is right, I believe it's wrong," Amyx said at the time.
The store owner says the antigay merchandise will be available again by the end of the week. And that hate-inspired sign still hangs in the store window.
Watch WATE-TV's report on Amyx merchandise and reaction, below:
